Data sources: Medline and the Cochrane Central register of controlled trials were used to identify relevant reports.
Study selection: Randomised controlled trials and controlled clinical trials were included if they were of >/= 4 weeks' duration, were conducted in people of >/= 18 years of age and in good general health, and used plaque/ bleeding/ gingivitis or pocket depth as outcome measures. Case reports, letters and narrative or historical reviews were excluded and only English language papers were considered.
Data extraction and synthesis: Descriptive comparisons are presented for brushing only or for brushing and rinsing and, where appropriate, a meta-analysis was performed using a random effects model.
Results: Eight studies met the inclusion criteria and they showed a small but significant additional benefit of cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC) use.
Conclusions: The existing evidence supports the use of CPC-containing mouthrinses as adjuncts to either supervised or unsupervised oral hygiene as they provide a small but significant additional benefit in reducing plaque accumulation and gingival inflammation.